Sicha, Rosh Chodesh Elul 5736
A. Blessings and Curses
In this week’s Torah reading, we read about the blessings and curses given on Mount Gerizim and Mount Eival (Source 1), as well as Moses’ words of rebuke to the Jews (Source 2). In both cases, we see that the blessings were uttered before the curses and rebuke.
The Rebbe asks: This order seems to contradict the language of the Talmud, which says: “The left hand must always push away and the right hand must always draw close,” where the left is mentioned first (Source 3). How can these be reconciled?
B. The Right Comes Before the Left
Maimonides details the process of teaching a young child: at first, one promises them prizes and sweets, and later, when they mature, they will understand how to learn “for its own sake” (Sources 4–5). From here, we learn that one must begin with an approach of the “right hand drawing near,” in order to eventually lead to the result of studying Torah and serving G-d with the proper motivation.
Similarly, the Talmud notes that one should open a Torah class with a joke and joy, for the Divine Presence rests only amid joy. Only afterward should the serious part of the class begin (Source 6). The Rebbe emphasizes that even though it is not strictly required that the teacher be the one telling the joke, our sages chose to do so themselves in order to build a closer relationship with their students.
This approach of the right hand drawing near is also seen in Moses’ words to the Jewish people at the beginning of the book of Deuteronomy. Before rebuking them, he first struck down Sihon and Og on their behalf, opening the way to conquer the land. Only after that great favorable act did he proceed to rebuke them (Source 7).
C. Why Does It Say The Left Pushes Away and the Right Draws Near
Now we can understand why the Talmud phrases it specifically in this order: first “the left pushes away,” and afterwards “the right draws near.”
There, the discussion is about two specific stories—Gechazi, the attendant of Elisha the prophet, and Yeshu, the student of Rabbi Yehoshua ben Perachya. When reading these stories, we see that Elisha and Rabbi Yehoshua already had very close relationships with their disciples, Gechazi and Yeshu. Certainly, then, the “right hand drawing near” was already present. But because of their severe misconduct, the rabbis had to “push away.” And regarding this the Talmud teaches: even when there is a need to act with rejection, it must be done with the left hand—the weaker hand—and immediately followed by the right hand drawing near, so as not to ruin the relationship and the chance to have an influence (Source 7).
